Each school day in the Bethlehem Area School District a dedicated transportation staff that includes over 100 drivers delivers students to their assigned schools. One of those drivers, Linda Benner, was recently recognized for her 40 years serving as a BASD school bus driver.

“I had just turned 21 and liked to drive,” says Benner, whose anniversary date was Sept. 4. Benner, who was born in Freemansburg and now lives in Hanover Township, is herself a product of the BASD.

She recalls starting in 1980 when the buses were stick shift and didn’t have power steering or power brakes. Initially she drove a station wagon, graduating to a van next, and then a lift bus, and she now drives a full-size bus. Benner says you had to give a lot of thought to where you were going to make some of the turns in the early days.

Her favorite moments have been when drivers dressed for Halloween and she says her fondest career memory involves driving the special needs students at Spring Garden ES.

During COVID-19, Benner says it’s easier to remember the students’ names because fewer are traveling by bus, due to the alternating schedules.

“You get to know them better,” she says, although she notes that the students’ masks present a challenge at times.

Benner seems a bit of a daredevil, since she enjoys motorcycle riding, has soloed in a glider, and has driven an Indy car 140 miles per hour at the Nazareth Speedway.

Her favorite pastime is helping her husband Gary work on his 1934 Chevy, and she relates that they enjoy driving around the countryside to check out the sights. She also spends a great deal of time walking her 5-year-old Golden Retriever, Rusty.

As far as her future as a bus driver, Benner says she’d like to work until she’s 65, “but we’ll see what happens,” she adds.

At a brief ceremony on Sept. 23, Benner was presented with a plaque, a gift bag and a cake by transportation services supervisor Jenny Casebolt-Robinson and transportation office staff.